Bitcoin Near $11K; BitFlyer Comes to Europe

Bitcoin is once again nearing $11,000 after dropping down from the $13,000 range during the weekend due to a strong selling mood on the markets. Currently, market signals indicate that the trend is changing, although nothing can be said for certain.

In other interesting news, Nasdaq is looking into offering Bitcoin futures but in a way that would be different from what their competitors offer, according to CNBC. In a CNBC interview, Adena Friedman, CEO of the stock exchange, confirmed the rumors that Nasdaq are considering Bitcoin futures, although there is no date given as to when will this happen.

According to Friedman, Nasdaq is investigating the idea of BTC futures contracts with a partner to ensure there’s proper demand for such contracts, that the right protocols for risk management can be devised, but also that their product is different from what is already available. Others who’ve already put out such contracts are Cboe and the CME exchange, whose Bitcoin futures were off to a rocky start.

Trading Volume Drops

During the last week, Bitcoin’s price movements once again drew a curve on the charts, rising at first before dropping down again to previous levels. The highest price point since our last update was hit on Saturday evening when Bitcoin reached $13,069.90 while the lowest point of $10,184.90 was hit on Tuesday, around noon time.

One notable trend during this period was the deflation of trading volume, which hit a peak of $19.8 billion on Thursday before starting to subdue over the weekend. The decline continued at the time of writing, when the trading volume was significantly lower at $9.3 billion while the market capitalization was at $185.7 billion.

Our short term analysis shows that the trends are reversing and that buyers are currently leading the markets. Out of 12 oscillators, 6 are sending buying signals and 8 out of 12 moving averages are also pointing upwards to suggest a buying trend. The SMA 100 is over the SMA 200 on this time-frame, although with a narrow gap, showing less resistance to the upside.

As indicated by the market signals, Bitcoin’s price might be making a recovery as long as the buying mood persists, especially when there aren’t any major market updates driving the mood. As always, watch out for any new events and trend changes.

BitFlyer Gets a European License

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan – BitFlyer – has decided to expand its coverage and operations into the European market. As reported by TechCrunch, the exchange has already acquired a payment license that will allow it to legally operate inside of EU’s jurisdiction. The license was issued in Luxembourg, which is where the exchange will locate its European headquarters.

BitFlyer, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com, is the 14th largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. In the last 24 hours, its Bitcoin trading volume hit $213.3 million, with Bitcoin accounting for 96.88% of the trades at the exchange. When it comes to Bitcoin trading, the Japanese exchange surpasses other key players in the market like GDAX, Kraken, and BitStamp.

Where other exchanges offer a variety of cryptocurrencies to stay competitive and attract customers, BitFlyer has always been more “traditional” and stuck with only mainstream digital currencies. Apart from Bitcoin, the only other “altcoins” the exchange is offering is Ether/Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Monacoin.

Initially, only Bitcoin will be made available to European traders and it will only sell for Euros. But later in the year, the exchange is planning to introduce its remaining cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum.